Bass Drum
of Death at One Eyed Jacks

In its lean years, Fat Possum became known for pushing bluesmen like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough outside their (and their fans') comfort zones. But the Oxford, Miss., imprint — which turns 20 this year — fattened up by coloring outside the lines: Young guns (The Black Keys) begat younger guns (Wavves, Yuck); pinprick bloodletting (Andrew Bird, Spiritualized) led to full-on genre bleeding (Tennis, Youth Lagoon). Today, its roster is responsible for arguably the top rock (The Walkmen) and hip-hop (El-P) albums of 2012. Closer to home, both literally and figuratively, is Bass Drum of Death, an Oxford band whose tanned-hide 2011 debut, GB City, makes the case for punk and garage rock as split heirs to the blues' bottomless inheritance. Stretching two instruments and three chords to their breaking points, singer/guitarist John Barrett and death-drummer Colin Sneed replace grief and sorrow with sneering attitude and searing energy: Single "Get Found" carries more fuzz than a lint brush, "Velvet Itch" clips the dirty wings off Eagles of Death Metal and "Young Pros" steps on the heads of would-be usurpers by stealing their pop surf. The stubborn fact that some of those young pros came first — and reside on the same label — matters not. With a rip-roaring live show, these possums are concerned with one thing, and one thing only: roadkill. DZ Deathrays and KG Accidental open. Tickets $10. — Noah Bonaparte Pais